Soil Erosion and Land Degradation

Scholten, Thomas; Seitz, Steffen

doi:10.3390/soilsystems3040068

Cited by 15 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…Despite the properties following the climatic gradient, SG deviates from the other sites in terms of higher BD, lower clay, and higher sand content. This can indicate a degraded condition for the semi-arid site caused by the current land use, including grazing (Armesto et al, 2007), compacting the surface and thus activating erosive processes (Scholten and Seitz, 2019), in favor of the accumulation of sand particles (Govers, 1985). The aggregate distribution stresses this finding, where SG has a lower proportion of water-stable aggregates > 2 mm and a higher water-destabilization of aggregates between 9.5 to 4.7 mm, indicating that the nature of the structuring agent in that zone is water-soluble.…”

Section: Aggregate Stability and Soil Properties Along The Climatic G...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Biocrust-linked changes in soil aggregate stability along a climatic gradient in the Chilean Coastal Range

Riveras-Muñoz¹,

Seitz²,

Witzgall

et al. 2022

SOIL

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Abstract. Biological soil crusts (biocrusts) composed of cyanobacteria, bacteria, algae, fungi, lichens, and bryophytes stabilize the soil surface. This effect has mainly been studied in arid climates, where biocrusts constitute the main biological agent to stabilize and connect soil aggregates. Besides, biocrusts are an integral part of the soil surface under Mediterranean and humid climate conditions, mainly covering open spaces in forests and on denuded lands. They often develop after vegetation disturbances, when their ability to compete with vascular plants increases, acting as pioneer communities and affecting the stability of soil aggregates. To better understand how biocrusts mediate changes in soil aggregate stability under different climate conditions, we analyzed soil aggregate samples collected under biocrust communities from four national parks in Chile along a large climatic gradient ranging from (north to south) arid (Pan de Azúcar, PA), semi-arid (Santa Gracia, SG), Mediterranean (La Campana, LC) to humid (Nahuelbuta, NA). Biocrust communities showed a stabilizing effect on the soil aggregates in dry fractions for the three northern sites and the wet aggregates for the southernmost site. Here, permanent vascular plants and higher contents of organic carbon and nitrogen in the soil control aggregate stability more than biocrusts, which are in intense competition with higher plant communities. Moreover, we found an increase in stability for aggregate size classes < 2.0 and 9.5–30.0 mm. The geometric mean diameter of the soil aggregates showed a clear effect due to the climatic gradient, indicating that the aggregate stability presents a log-normal instead of a normal distribution, with a trend of low change between aggregate size fractions. Based on our results, we assume that biocrusts affect the soil structure in all climates. Their role in aggregate stability is masked under humid conditions by higher vegetation and organic matter contents in the topsoil.

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Section: Aggregate Stability and Soil Properties Along The Climatic G...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Biocrust-linked changes in soil aggregate stability along a climatic gradient in the Chilean Coastal Range

Riveras-Muñoz¹,

Seitz²,

Witzgall

et al. 2022

SOIL

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“…The process of land use change beside resulting benefits enjoyed by the community but also inseparable from the risk of land damage due to erosion. Erosion is the main factor that causes land degradation [5,6]. Erosion often causes impacts, both at erosion location and outside the location [7].…”

Section: Original Research Articlementioning

confidence: 99%

Soil Erosion Rate and Surface Run Off on Various Forms of Culture

Rachman

Naharuddin

2022

JEAI

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Cultivation is one of the agricultural systems that is mostly carried out by forest village communities living in and around the watershed area by slashing, cutting and burning forest trees. This study aimed to determine the rate of erosion and runoff from the cultivation type in Olonjonge sub-watershed, Dolago watershed, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia.The method used was a multislot divisor on a plot measuring 2 m x 15 m with 3 repetitions on 3 types of cultivation (peanut, corn and cocoa monoculture (3 years old) on land with a steep slope (25-40%). The largest surface runoff came from peanut land at 79,689.77 liters ha-1 followed by corn at 65,704.55 liters ha-1 and the smallest from cocoa monoculture (3 years old) at 56,385.23 liters ha-1, while the highest erosion occurred at peanut land area of 195.52 kg ha-1 followed by corn field of 165.26 kg ha-1, and cocoa monoculture (3 years old) of kg ha-1. Cocoa planting was more effective in protecting the soil from rain with the potential to protect the soil from erosion and surface runoff.

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“…Although these effects have been known for a long time, there are still a variety of challenges to mitigating soil erosion in different ecosystems. As climate change progresses, the risk of soil loss increases, making the preparation of effective solutions an urgent matter (Olsson, 2019;Scholten and Seitz, 2019). Most prominent soil losses are appearing in agricultural environments and thus a considerable part of relevant research is conducted in those areas (Morgan, 2005;Maetens et al, 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pioneer biocrust communities prevent soil erosion in temperate forests after disturbances

Gall

Nebel

Quandt

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Abstract. Soil erosion continues to be one of the most serious environmental problems of our time, which is exacerbated by progressive climate change. Until now, forests have been considered an ideal erosion control in this regard. However, even minor disturbances of the forest floor for example from heavy vehicle used for timber harvesting can cause substantial sediment transport. An important countermeasure is the quick restoration of the uncovered soil surface by vegetation. In this context, biological soil crusts (biocrusts) can play a vital role, as they are known for their soil-protective effect. This study examined the natural succession of pioneer vegetation in skid trails on four soil substrates in a central European temperate forest and investigated their influence on surface runoff and sediment discharge. We applied rainfall simulation experiments on small-scale runoff plots and continuously surveyed vegetation during the same period, primarily to map biocrust development. Skid trails on clayey substrates showed considerably higher biocrust cover and species richness. Biocrust cover was higher in center tracks than in wheel tracks, while there was no clear difference for biocrust species richness with regard to track position. Although biocrusts were quickly overtopped by vascular plants, they managed to coexist until their growth was restricted due to leaf litter fall. Brachythecium rutabulum and Oxyrrhynchium hians were the most important and persistent pioneer biocrust species, while Dicranella schreberiana and Pohlia lutescens were volatile and quickly disappeared after spreading in summer. Soil erosion was reduced with pioneer biocrust vegetation in summer, and again increased in winter. Total amount of sediment discharge was clearly site-dependent, indicating a high relevance of underlying substrates. Sediment discharge was 13.2 times higher in wheel tracks compared to undisturbed forest soil, and bare soil runoff plots produced 22-fold sediment discharge compared to undisturbed forest soil. Overall, bryophyte-dominated biocrusts contributed more to mitigating soil erosion than vascular plants. When soil coverage exceeded 50 %, biocrusts resulted in an average of 18 times less sediment loss compared to vascular plants.

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Soil Erosion and Land Degradation

Abstract: Land degradation by soil erosion is still one of the most severe environmental issues of our time [...]

Cited by 15 publications

References 8 publications

Biocrust-linked changes in soil aggregate stability along a climatic gradient in the Chilean Coastal Range

Biocrust-linked changes in soil aggregate stability along a climatic gradient in the Chilean Coastal Range

Soil Erosion Rate and Surface Run Off on Various Forms of Culture

Pioneer biocrust communities prevent soil erosion in temperate forests after disturbances

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